Most Maryland Employers are Now Required to Provide PAID Leave

By Scott A. Mirsky

As of earlier this year, all Maryland employers with 15 or more employees are required to provide paid sick and safe leave to their employees. In a nutshell, under the recently enacted Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (“Act”) employers must provide one hour of sick and safe leave for every thirty hours that an employee works.[1] Under the new Act, earned sick and safe leave may be used for the following:

To care for or treat the employee’s mental or physical illness, injury or condition;

To obtain preventative medical care for the employee or the employee’s family member;

To care for a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury or condition;

For maternity or paternity leave; or

The absence from work is necessary due to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking committed against the employee or the employee’s family member and the leave is being used:

(1) to obtain medical or mental health attention;

(2) to obtain services from a victim services organization;

(3) for legal services or proceedings; or

(4) because the employee has temporarily relocated as a result of the domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

All employers in Maryland should review their leave policies to ensure that their businesses are in compliance with the new Act.

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[1] The new Act is similar to the Montgomery County Earned Sick and Safe Leave Law (which still must be complied with by employers in Montgomery County). However, the Montgomery County law requires employers with less than 15 employee to provide paidsick and safe leave.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to solicit business or to provide legal advice. Laws differ by state and jurisdiction. The information on this blog may not apply to every reader. You should not take any legal action based upon the information contained on this blog without first seeking professional counsel. Your use of the blog does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Mirsky Law Group, LLC.

Minimum Wage Increases are Coming to Montgomery County

By Scott A. Mirsky

Montgomery County businesses need to start preparing for the gradual increase of the minimum wage as it heads towards $15 per hour. After some compromising between lawmakers and the County Executive, the deadline for businesses to comply with the $15 per hour requirement will vary depending upon the number of employees who are employed by the business, as follows:

July 1, 2021, for employers with 51 or more employees

July 1, 2023, for employers with 11-50 employees

July 1, 2024, for employers with fewer than 11 employee

In addition, businesses will have to comply with gradual increases to the minimum wages as it approaches $15 per hour. The new law specifically excludes (1) employees who are exempt under State or Federal law; (2) employees who are subject to an opportunity wage under State of Federal law; (3) employees who are 18 years old or younger if they work no more than 20 hours per week. In addition, if the employee is 19 years old or younger, the new law permits an employer to pay that employee 85% of the County minimum wage for the first six months of employment.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to solicit business or to provide legal advice. Laws differ by state and jurisdiction. The information on this blog may not apply to every reader. You should not take any legal action based upon the information contained on this blog without first seeking professional counsel. Your use of the blog does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Mirsky Law Group, LLC.

Revisited a Year Later: The Montgomery County Earned Sick and Safe Leave Law Turns One

A year ago, Montgomery County became one of the first counties in the nation to require that employers provide employees with paid sick leave. In general, under the Montgomery County Earned Sick and Safe Leave Law employees must be allowed to earn a minimum of 56 hours of paid sick and safe leave each year. If the employer has few than five employees, then the employee must be allowed to earn at least 32 hours of paid leave and 24 hours of unpaid leave each year. While most employers comply with these requirements (and many even provide more than 56 hours of paid sick leave on an annual basis), compliance with some of the detailed requirements are more problematic. For example, an employer in Montgomery County must:

Allow its employees to carry over 56 hours of leave to the next calendar year, unless an employer gives its employees their full leave entitlement at the beginning of each calendar year.

Allow its employees to accrue paid sick leave from the first day of employment.

However, an employer can restrict the employee from using paid sick and safe leave during the first 90 days of employment.

Provide its employees with a written statement (or an online portal) which shows the employee how many hours of paid time off they have available to use.

Notify their employees that they are entitled to sick and safe leave. The notice must comport with certain requirements or include the model notice prepared by Montgomery County.

Keep records concerning employees accrual or use of earned sick leave for at least three years.

All employers who have employees located in Montgomery County should review their leave polices to ensure compliance with the Montgomery County Earned Sick and Safe Leave Law.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to solicit business or to provide legal advice. Laws differ by state and jurisdiction. The information on this blog may not apply to every reader. You should not take any legal action based upon the information contained on this blog without first seeking professional counsel. Your use of the blog does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Mirsky Law Group, LLC.

Minimum Wage in Montgomery County Set to Increase Again

While is seems like the minimum wage in Montgomery County, Maryland was just increased to $10.75, employers are now less than 90 days away from the next increase. On July 1, 2017, the minimum wage will rise to $11.50 per hour. While this increase is not a surprise, as the legislation approving this lift in the minimum wage rate was passed several years ago, the fact remains that Montgomery County will have the highest minimum wage in the State of Maryland. However, Prince George’s County, Maryland will shortly follow and increase its minimum wage to $11.50 on October 1, 2017. Employers in the District of Columbia are already required to comply with the $11.50 minimum wage.

As a reminder, for all hours worked over 40 in a given work week the employee must be paid time-and-one-half. In other words, all overtime hours must be paid at a rate of $17.25/per hour.

For more information on minimum wage and overtime issues, please contact Scott A. Mirsky at (301) 656-7603 or samirsky@paleyrothman.com.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to solicit business or to provide legal advice. Laws differ by state and jurisdiction. The information on this blog may not apply to every reader. You should not take any legal action based upon the information contained on this blog without first seeking professional counsel. Your use of the blog does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Mirsky Law Group, LLC.

Non-Compete Agreements

Is a non-compete agreement enforceable?

In Maryland, if the terms of the non-compete agreement are reasonable then the Court will generally enforce the agreement. To determine what is reasonable, many factors need to be analyzed. Such as, what is the duration of the restriction? What is the geographic scope of the restriction? What is the scope of work that is being restricted? If the non-compete is narrowly tailored to protect the legitimate business needs of a company, and its terms are reasonable, then the Maryland courts will most likely enforce a non-compete agreement. If on the other hand, the non-compete is overbroad, seeks to restrict activities that are outside of the company’s business or geographic region, or is for too long of a time period, then the Court will not enforce the non-compete agreement.

What are the possible remedies for breaching a non-compete agreement?

If a company wants to take action against a former employee who is violating a non-compete agreement, then the company can hire an attorney to write a cease-and-desist letter asking the former employee to stop breaking the terms of the non-compete agreement. In addition, the company can take immediate legal against the former employee and ask the Court to enter an emergency order for injunctive relief against the former employee ordering him/her to stop violating the non-compete agreement. At a subsequent trial, the company may be awarded monetary damages caused by the former employee’s actions and the company may also be awarded their attorney’s fees if the non-compete agreement specifically allows the company to recover its attorney’s fees.

As knowledgeable employment law attorneys, we can help you navigate and figure out the best way to protect your business, trade secrets, and client base.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to solicit business or to provide legal advice. Laws differ by state and jurisdiction. The information on this blog may not apply to every reader. You should not take any legal action based upon the information contained on this blog without first seeking professional counsel. Your use of the blog does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Mirsky Law Group, LLC.

The Montgomery County Earned Sick and Safe Leave Law goes into effect on October 1, 2016. Under this new law, all employers in Montgomery County will be required to implement policies that allow employees to accrue paid time-off to be used under certain circumstances, including but not limited to, (1) when the employee (or his/her family member) is sick, (2) when there is a public health emergency closing the employer’s place of business or schools, (3) when the employee (or his/her family member) is the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

If an employer has at least one employee working in Montgomery County, then the employer must comply with the law. Employers with five or more employees must allow their employees to earn 1 hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked up to a minimum of 56 hours of paid leave each year. Employers with less than five employees must allow their employees to earn at least 32 hours of paid leave and 24 hours of unpaid leave.

If an employer already provides at least 56 hours of paid leave (which can be used for the same situations, and in the same manner, as enumerated in the Montgomery County Earned Sick and Safe Leave Law), then the employer is most likely in compliance with the leave requirements of the new law and does not need to provide additional hours of paid leave.

However, it important to note, that under the new law all employers in Montgomery County are required to provide its employees with a written statement (or an online portal) which shows the employee how many hours of paid time off they have available to use.

Finally, all employers in Montgomery County must notify their employees that they are entitled to sick and safe leave. The notice must comport with certain requirements or include the model notice prepared by Montgomery County.

All employers who have employees located in Montgomery County should immediately review their leave polices to ensure compliance with the new law and consult with an employment attorney who is familiar with the Montgomery County Earned Sick and Safe Leave Law. If an employer in Montgomery County does not offer paid time-off or does not have a written policy describing paid time-off, now is the time to address this issue.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to solicit business or to provide legal advice. Laws differ by state and jurisdiction. The information on this blog may not apply to every reader. You should not take any legal action based upon the information contained on this blog without first seeking professional counsel. Your use of the blog does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Mirsky Law Group, LLC.

Location

Scott A. Mirsky is pleased to announce that he will be taking his practice to PaleyRothman as of March 4, 2019. Mr. Mirsky can be reached at the following address: